Methods and systems for evaluating energy conservation and guest satisfaction in hotels

ABSTRACT

A method for determining an energy score for a guest room of a hotel having a plurality of guest rooms includes identifying two or more energy saving conditions associated with the guest room under which there is an opportunity to save energy when controlling the guest room without sacrificing guest comfort. The guest room is controlled in a designated energy savings mode when one or more of the energy savings room conditions are detected, and controlling the guest room in a guest comfort mode when none of the energy savings room conditions are detected. An energy score for the guest room is determined based at least in part on a measure of reliability of detecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guest room, and thus the ability to take advantage of the opportunities to save energy when controlling the guest room.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to hotels. More particularly,the present disclosure relates to evaluating energy conservation and/orguest satisfaction in hotels.

BACKGROUND

Hotels can include a large number of hotel rooms that can be rented outby guests. When individual hotel rooms are not rented out, there areopportunities to achieve energy savings, particularly in heating,ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that provide conditionedair for the individual hotel rooms. Energy savings may also be achievedin lighting systems, for example. When individual hotel rooms arerented, but are currently not occupied, there are also opportunities forenergy savings. However, a need to provide a satisfying guest experiencecan limit possible energy savings because, for example, the possibilitythat a guest may soon occupy the individual hotel room means that thetemperature set point in the room may not be allowed to change as muchfrom a comfort temperature set point. What would be desirable is animproved way to manage opportunities for achieving energy savings whilealso maintaining a satisfactory guest experience.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to evaluating energyconservation and/or guest satisfaction in hotels. In one example, amethod for determining an energy score for a guest room of a hotelhaving a plurality of guest rooms includes identifying two or moreenergy saving conditions associated with the guest room under whichthere is an opportunity to save energy when controlling the guest roomwithout sacrificing guest comfort. The guest room is controlled in adesignated energy savings mode when one or more of the energy savingsroom conditions are detected, and controlling the guest room in a guestcomfort mode when none of the energy savings room conditions aredetected. An energy score for the guest room is determined based atleast in part on a measure of reliability of detecting the two or moreenergy savings conditions of the guest room, and thus the ability totake advantage of the opportunities to save energy when controlling theguest room.

In another example, a system for determining an energy score for a guestroom of a hotel having a plurality of guest rooms includes a hotelnetwork to which each of the plurality of guest rooms are operablycoupled to. A server is remote from the plurality of guest rooms and isconfigured to receive via one or more networks including the hotelnetwork one or more room connectivity parameters that provide anindication of network connectivity to a guest room. The server isconfigured to receive via the one or more networks a PMS connectivityparameter that provides an indication of network connectivity to aProperty Management System (PMS) of the hotel. The server is configuredto determine an energy score based at least in part on the one or moreroom connectivity parameters and the PMS connectivity parameter and todisplay on a display the energy score.

In another example, a method of determining a guest comfort score for aguest staying in a guest room of a plurality of guest rooms of a hotelfacility. Each of the plurality of guest rooms including a connectedthermostat. A server is configured to receive an indication that theguest room is rented and occupied. The server also receives a pluralityof parameters from one or more devices within the guest room for timeswhen the guest room is rented and occupied, and is configured todetermine two or more partial comfort scores based at least in part onone of more of the plurality of parameters. The server calculates aguest comfort score for the guest room by determining a weightedcombination of two or more of the partial comfort scores for times whenthe guest room is determined to have been rented and occupied anddisplays on a display the guest comfort score calculated for the guestroom.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is notintended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosurecan be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, figures, andabstract as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of thefollowing description of various examples in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an illustrative hotelmanagement system;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method that may becarried out using the illustrative hotel management system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method that may becarried out using the illustrative hotel management system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method that may becarried out using the illustrative hotel management system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method that may becarried out using the illustrative hotel management system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A through 6F illustrate an energy-related dashboard; and

FIG. 7A through 7D illustrate a guest comfort-related dashboard.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosureto the particular examples described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

The following description should be read with reference to the drawings,in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in likefashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depictexamples that are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.Although examples are illustrated for the various elements, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples providedhave suitable alternatives that may be utilized.

All numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about”,unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The recitation ofnumerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within thatrange (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5).

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural referents unless thecontent clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification andthe appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its senseincluding “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

It is noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment”,“some embodiments”, “other embodiments”, etc., indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, orcharacteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative hotel managementsystem 10. The illustrative hotel management system 10 is installed in ahotel 12 and includes a remote server 14 remote from the hotel 12. Whilethe remote server 14 is shown as being exterior to the hotel 12, this isnot required in all cases. It is contemplated that the remote server 14could be disposed within the hotel 12, if desired. The remote server 14may be a single computer, or the remote server 14 may represent acloud-based server that includes one or more different computers. Thehotel 12 includes a number of guest rooms 16 that are individuallylabeled as 16 a, 16 b, 16 c. It will be appreciated that this is merelyillustrative, as the hotel 12 will typically include a much greaternumber of guest rooms 16. Each guest room 16 includes one or moresensors 18, although only one sensor 18 is shown per guest room 16. Thesensors 18 are individually labeled as 18 a, 18 b, 18 c. The sensors 18may, for example, be environmental sensors such as temperature sensors,humidity sensors, light sensors, and/or any other suitable sensor. Insome cases, one or more of the sensors 18 may be disposed within a roomthermostat within at least some of the guest rooms 16. Alternatively, orin addition, the sensors 18 may include occupancy sensors such as PIRsensors, mmWave sensors, motion sensors and/or microphones, for example.Some of the sensors 18 may be part of a security system of the hotel 12.

Some of the sensors 18 may be configured to provide data pointsindicative of guest activities in the guest room. To help identify asleep quality score of a guest, at least some of the sensors 18 may beconfigured to provide data points that include a measure related to anumber of interactions with a thermostat in the corresponding guest room16 that occur during a defined thermostat interaction detection timeperiod at night. The data points may include a measure related to motiondetected by a motion sensor in the corresponding guest room 16 thatoccur during a defined motion detection time period at night. The datapoints may include a measure related to changes in an ambient lightlevel detected by a light sensor in the corresponding guest room 16 thatoccur during a defined ambient light level detection time period atnight. In some cases, the data points provided by the sensors 18 mayinclude a measure related to a noise detected by a noise detector in thecorresponding guest room that occur during a defined noise detectiontime period at night. In some cases, the thermostat interactiondetection time period, the motion detection time period, the ambientlight level detection time period and the noise detection time periodeach include the time period from 2 AM to 3 AM, for example. In someinstances, the data points include one or more sleep parameters that areprovided by one or more sensors within a bed in the guest room 16. Inthis case, the sensor 18, or one of multiple sensors 18 within the guestroom 16, may be embedded in the guest's bed.

Each of the guest rooms 16 of the hotel 12 includes a heating,ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system 20, individually labeledas 20 a, 20 b, 20 c. The HVAC system 20 in each guest room 16 may be anyof a variety of different types of HVAC systems, including splitsystems. In many cases, the HVAC system 20 in each guest room 16 may beconfigured to provide warm air, cool air and ambient temperature aircirculation as needed, in order to maintain a particular temperature setpoint within the guest room 16. The particular temperature set pointmay, for example, include a predetermined temperature set point that isdetermined for all guest rooms 16 within the hotel 12, particularly fortimes at which a particular guest room 16 is not rented, or for times atwhich a particular guest room 16 is rented, but is not occupied. Attimes in which a particular guest room 16 is both rented and occupied,the temperature set point for that particular guest room 16 mayultimately be determined by the guest, interacting with a roomthermostat, for example.

Each of the guest rooms 16 may include a room network 22, individuallylabeled as 22 a, 22 b, 22 c. The room network 22 in each guest room 16may be operably coupled with the sensor 18 and the HVAC system 20 withinthat guest room 16. The room network 22 in each guest room 16 may be awired network, such as an Ethernet network, or the room network 22 ineach guest room may be a wireless network. Each of the room networks 22may be considered as being operably coupled with a hotel network 24.Accordingly, data from each guest room 16 can reach the hotel network24, and thus can be passed on to other devices. Similarly, instructionsor other commands from outside the individual guest rooms 16 may bepassed to devices within each guest room 16, such as but not limited tothe sensors 18 and the HVAC systems 20.

In some cases, the hotel network 24 is also operably coupled to devicesthat are exterior to the guest rooms 16. For example, the hotel 12 mayinclude a front desk terminal 26. The front desk terminal 26 may, forexample, be configured to allow hotel employees to check guests in andout of the hotel 12. While one front desk terminal 26 is shown, it willbe appreciated that many hotels 12 may have more than one front deskterminal 26. In some hotels 12, for example, a guest may be able tocheck themselves out of their guest room 16 using the television intheir room. In such cases, the television may be considered asfunctioning as a terminal, and may replace some of the functionality ofthe front desk terminal 26. Accordingly, the television in each guestroom 16 may also be operably coupled to the hotel network 24.

The illustrative hotel 12 includes a Property Management System (PMS)28. The PMS 28 may be considered as including software that tracks whichguest rooms 16 are rented and which guest rooms 16 are not rented. ThePMS 28 may track other parameters and features as well. For example, thePMS 28 may track movie and game rentals within each of the guest rooms16, so that these rentals can be accounted for and correctly billed tothe appropriate room renters. While the PMS 28 is shown as beingoperably coupled to the hotel network 24, in some cases the PMS 28 mayalso be coupled with the front desk terminal 26, as indicated in FIG. 1via a dashed line between the PMS 28 and the front desk terminal 26.

A gateway 30 may provide a connection between the hotel network 24, andhence the various devices operably coupled to the hotel network 24, andthe remote server 14. In some cases, the gateway 30 may be as simple asa modem/router that permits the hotel network 24, and the devices on thehotel network 24, to access wide area networks (WAN) such as but notlimited to the Internet. The gateway 30 may be configured to allowsoftware to be downloaded to the gateway 30 from the remote server 14.In some cases, the software downloaded to the gateway 30 may provide thegateway 30 with additional functionality. The software downloaded to thegateway 30 may, for example, assist the gateway 30 in communicating withthe individual room networks 22 and/or the individual components such asthe sensors 18 and/or the HVAC systems 20 within each of the guest rooms16. The software downloaded to the gateway 30 may allow the gateway 30to provide/pass commands to the individual components such as thesensors 18 and/or the HVAC systems 20 if desired.

The illustrative system 10 includes a computing device 32 that isoperably coupled to the remote server 14. While shown outside of thehotel 12, in some cases the computing device 32 may instead be disposedwithin the hotel 12. The computing device 32 allows an individual toaccess information available on the hotel network 24. In the exampleshown, the computing device 32 includes a display 34 that may be used todisplay information. While not illustrated, it will be appreciated thatthe computing device 32 may also include data entry options such as akeyboard, mouse, trackball and the like. The computing device 32 may bea lap top computer, a desktop computer, a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, and/or any other suitable computing device. In some cases, theremote server 14 and the computing device 32 may be one and the same.

In some instances, the remote server 14 may be configured to receiveand/or compute one or more room connectivity parameters that provide anindication of network connectivity to one of the guest rooms 16. Thismay provide, for example, an indication of whether the room network 22within a particular guest room 16 is operational or not. In some cases,the one or more room connectivity parameters may include a room uptimeparameter that provides an indication of how long a particular guestroom 16 has been online relative to a given period of time. The one ormore room connectivity parameters may include a router uptime parameterthat provides an indication of how long the hotel network 24 has beenonline relative to the given period of time.

The remote server 14 may be configured to receive and/or compute a PMSconnectivity parameter that provides an indication of networkconnectivity to the Property Management System (PMS) 28 of the hotel 12.The PMS connectivity parameter may include a PMS uptime parameter thatprovides an indication of how long the PMS 28 has been online relativeto the given period of time.

In some cases, the remote server 14 is configured to determine an energyscore based at least in part on the one or more room connectivityparameters and the PMS connectivity parameter and to display the energyscore on a display such as the display 34 of computing device 32. Theenergy score may be based at least in part on the one or more roomconnectivity parameters associated with each of the plurality of guestrooms 16. In some cases, the remote server 14 may be configured todisplay the aggregate energy score for all of the rooms in the hotel 12in combination with an aggregate energy score for a comparison hotel. Insome cases, the remote server 14 may be configured to display an energyscore for each guest room 16 in combination with an aggregate energyscore for the hotel 12, to show how the particular guest rooms 16 farerelative to the rest of the hotel 12.

In some cases, the system 10 may be configured to evaluate a hotelguest's satisfaction with the hotel 12. The remote server 14 may beconfigured to receive a data points from the sensors 18 via a connectionto the hotel network 24. The remote server 14 may use the data points tocalculate a guest satisfaction score for the guest room 16 and todisplay the guest satisfaction score. The guest satisfaction score may,for example, include a guest sleep quality score. In some cases, theremote server 14 only calculates the guest satisfaction score when theguest room 16 is determined to be occupied. The remote server 14 may beconfigured to display an aggregate guest satisfaction score incombination with a guest satisfaction score for each of one or moreother guest rooms within the hotel.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method 40 fordetermining an energy score for a guest room (such as a guest room 16)of a hotel (such as the hotel 12). Two or more energy saving conditionsassociated with the guest room under which there is an opportunity tosave energy when controlling the guest room without sacrificing guestcomfort are identified, as indicated at block 42. In some cases, one ofthe two or more energy savings conditions includes a guest room rentalstatus of un-rented. One of the two or more energy savings conditionsmay include a guest room occupancy status of rented but un-occupied. Insome cases, a Property Management System (PMS) of the hotel identifiesthe guest room rental status, and wherein a PMS connectivity parameterrepresentative of a reliability of a connection to the PMS determines atleast in part the measure of reliability of detecting the two or moreenergy savings conditions of the guest room. When an occupancy sensor ofthe room has failed or is otherwise not providing reliable data, themeasure of reliability of detecting the occupancy status of the room maybe affected. These are just examples.

The guest room is controlled in a designated energy savings mode whenone or more of the energy savings room conditions are detected, and iscontrolled in a guest comfort mode when none of the energy savings roomconditions are detected, as indicated at block 44. An energy score forthe guest room is determined based at least in part on a measure ofreliability of detecting the two or more energy savings conditions ofthe guest room, and thus the ability to take advantage of theopportunities to save energy when controlling the guest room, asindicated at block 46.

In some cases, one or more sensors of the guest room may be used toidentify the guest room occupancy status, and wherein a roomconnectivity parameter representative of a reliability of a connectionto the guest room determines at least in part the measure of reliabilityof detecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guestroom. One or more sensors within the guest room may be used to identifythe guest room occupancy status, and wherein an occupancy detectionparameter representative of a reliability of occupancy detection in theguest room determines at least in part the measure of reliability ofdetecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guest room.

In some cases, one of the two or more energy savings conditions includesa guest room rental status of un-rented and another of the two or moreenergy savings conditions comprises a guest room occupancy status ofun-occupied. When a guest room rental status of rented is detected and aguest room occupied status of un-occupied is detected, a firstdesignated energy savings mode is used that deviates from the guestcomfort mode by a first set amount. The first set amount may be set bythe hotel, and may be a pre-set offset from the guest comfort set point,a fixed temperature value, or any other value suitable for savingenergy. In some cases, the first set amount may increase with time suchthat the guest room temperature is allowed to deviate more as the guestremains away for a longer period of time.

When a guest room rental status of un-rented is detected, a seconddesignated energy savings mode is used that deviates from the guestcomfort mode by a second set amount, wherein the second set amount isgreater than the first set amount. In some cases, the energy score ofthe guest room may be based at least in part on the first set amount, asoptionally indicated at block 48. The energy score of the guest room maybe based at least in part on the second set amount, as optionallyindicated at block 50.

The first set amount and the second set amount may be defined when thesystem 10 is originally configured, for example. In some cases, hotelmanagement may be able to adjust the first set amount and the second setamount, in order to account for seasonal changes, local preferences andthe like. As an example, the first set amount may indicate a temperatureswing of plus/minus 2 degrees from a temperature set point. The secondset amount may indicate a temperature swing of plus/minus 3 degrees, oreven plus/minus 4 degrees from the temperature set point. These are justexamples.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method 60 ofdetermining a guest comfort score for a guest who is staying in a guestroom (such as the guest room 16) of a plurality of guest rooms of ahotel facility (such as the hotel 12), where each of the guest roomsinclude a connected thermostat. A server (such as the remote server 14)receives an indication that the guest room is rented and occupied, asindicated at block 62. The server receives a plurality of parametersfrom one or more devices within the guest room for times when the guestroom is rented and occupied, as indicated at block 64. Two or morepartial comfort scores that are based at least in part on one of more ofthe plurality of parameters are determined, as indicated at block 66.The server calculates a guest comfort score for the guest room bydetermining a weighted combination of two or more of the partial comfortscores for times when the guest room is determined to have been rentedand occupied, as indicated at block 68. The server displays on a displaythe guest comfort score that was calculated for the guest room, asindicated at block 70.

In some instances, the two or more partial comfort scores may include apartial score that provides a measure of how often an HVAC system of theguest room was unable to achieve a guest selected setpoint within apredefined period of time. The two or more partial scores may include apartial score that provides a measure of how often a guest interactedwith a thermostat of the guest room. In some cases, the two or morepartial comfort scores include a sleep quality score, wherein the sleepquality score provides a measure of guest activity during a predefinedtime period at night. The predefined time period at night may be anydesired period of time. In some cases, for example, the predefined timeperiod at night may include 2:00 AM-3:00 AM.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method 80 ofdetermining a guest sleep quality score for a guest room (such as theguest room 16) of a plurality of guest rooms of a hotel facility (suchas the hotel 12), where each of the plurality of guest rooms include aconnected thermostat. A server receives an indication that the guestroom is occupied, as indicated at block 82. The server receives aplurality of parameters from one or more sensors within the guest room,as indicated at block 84. The server determines two or more partialguest sleep quality scores based at least in part on one of more of theplurality of parameters that correspond to a predefined time period atnight, as indicated at block 86. The server calculates the guest sleepquality score for the guest room by determining a weighted combinationof two or more of the partial guest sleep quality scores for times whenthe guest room is determined to be rented and occupied, as indicated atblock 88. The server displays on a display the guest sleep quality scorethat was calculated for the guest room, as indicated at block 90. Theguest sleep quality score may provide an indication of how well a guestwithin the guest room slept.

In some cases, the method 80 may further include displaying on thedisplay the guest sleep quality score calculated for the guest room andalso guest comfort scores calculated for other guest rooms, asoptionally indicated at block 92. The other guest rooms may includeothers of the plurality of guest rooms of the hotel facility, forexample. The method 80 may further include determining which of theplurality of guest rooms have a guest comfort score below a guestcomfort score threshold, as indicated at block 94, as well as displayinga list of the plurality of guest rooms that have a guest comfort scorethat is below the guest comfort score threshold, as indicated at block96. In some cases, the method 80 may further include determining one ormore possible root causes for why at least one of the plurality of guestrooms has a guest comfort score below the guest comfort score threshold,as indicated at block 98, and displaying the determined one or morepossible root causes, as indicated at block 100.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an illustrative method 110 forevaluating guest sleep quality scores for a plurality of guest rooms(such as the guest room 16) within a hotel (such as the hotel 12). Oneor more sensed conditions are received from one or more sensors locatedin each of the plurality of guest rooms of the hotel, as indicated atblock 112. A guest sleep quality score is determined for each of two ormore of the plurality of guest rooms of the hotel, wherein the guestsleep quality score for each of the two or more of the plurality ofguest rooms is based at least in part on one or more guest activitiesdetermined from the one or more sensed conditions sensed by the one ormore sensors in the corresponding guest room, as indicated at block 114.

The guest sleep quality score for each of a plurality of guest rooms ofthe hotel may be based at least in part one or more guest room statusparameters, wherein the one or more guest room status parameters includeone or more of a guest room rented parameter and a guest room occupiedparameter. In some cases, each of the plurality of guest rooms includesa corresponding HVAC system (like the HVAC systems 20), and the one ormore guest room status parameters may include one or more of an alarmstatus of the corresponding HVAC system, a cooling valve status of thecorresponding HVAC system and a heating valve status of thecorresponding HVAC system.

The one or more determined guest activities may include a measurerelated to a number of interactions with a thermostat in thecorresponding guest room that occur during a defined thermostatinteraction detection time period at night. The one or more determinedguest activities may include a measure related to motion detected by amotion sensor in the corresponding guest room that occur during adefined motion detection time period at night. The one or moredetermined guest activities may include a measure related to changes inan ambient light level detected by a light sensor in the correspondingguest room that occur during a defined ambient light level detectiontime period at night. The one or more determined guest activities mayinclude a measure related to a noise detected by a noise detector in thecorresponding guest room that occur during a defined noise detectiontime period at night. In some cases, the thermostat interactiondetection time period, the motion detection time period, the ambientlight level detection time period and the noise detection time periodmay each include the period from 2 AM to 3 AM. The guest sleep qualityscore is displayed for at least some of the two or more of the pluralityof guest rooms of the hotel on a display, as indicated at block 116.

In some instances, as optionally indicated at block 120, the method 110may further include determining which of the plurality of guest roomshave a guest sleep quality score that is below a guest sleep qualitythreshold. The method 110 may further include determining one or morepossible root causes for at least some of the plurality of guest roomsthat have a guest sleep quality score that is below the guest sleepquality threshold, as optionally indicated at block 122. The method 110may further include displaying the determined one or more possible rootcauses for at least one of the plurality of guest rooms that have aguest sleep quality score that is below the guest sleep qualitythreshold, as optionally indicated at block 122.

In some cases, the remote server 14 and/or the computing device 32 maybe configured to display a dashboard that allows a user to quickly andeasily see how a particular guest room 16 may be performing relative toother guest rooms 16 within the hotel 12, or even in comparison with theperformance of similar guest rooms in other hotels. FIGS. 6A through 6Fprovide an example of a dashboard that may be displayed pertaining toenergy, including graphical representations of many of the parametersused in calculating an energy score. FIGS. 7A through 7D provide anexample of a dashboard that may be displayed pertaining to guestcomfort.

In some instances, the energy score may be considered as beingindicative of how well potential opportunities to conserve energy wereactually taken advantage of. Detecting when a guest room 16 is empty(either not rented or rented but not currently occupied) and allowingthe temperature set point to drift farther is an example of takingadvantage of an opportunity to conserve energy while not negativelyimpacting a guest. Allowing an empty room (either not rented or rentedbut not currently occupied) to maintain at a comfort temperature setpoint is an example of failing to take advantage of an opportunity toconserve energy.

FIG. 6A is a screen shot showing a dashboard 130 that may be generatedby the remote server 14 and displayed on the display 34 of the computingdevice 32. In some cases, the dashboard 130 may be generated directly bythe computing device 32. The dashboard 130 includes a menu 132 thatallows a user to choose what features they wish to view. As shown, theuser has selected Analytics, as indicated by a highlighted icon 134.Across the top of the dashboard 130 is a sub-menu 136 that allows a userto choose which analytics information they wish to view. As shown, theuser has selected Energy, as indicated by a highlighted icon 138. Thedashboard 130 includes a summary row 140 that includes an Energy Score142, a Rooms Connectivity icon 144, a PMS connectivity icon 146, anOccupancy Detection icon 148, a LEM Manual Override icon 150, anUnoccupied Band icon 152 and an Unrented Band icon 154. Each of theicons includes a rating such as Good, Bad, Fair, Critical such that auser can quickly see what areas may need attention.

The dashboard 130 as shown in FIG. 6A includes a graph 156 that showsconnectivity data. It will be appreciated that the graphs shown in FIGS.6B through 6F are part of the dashboard. A user may scroll up and downthrough the dashboard 130 to view any of these graphs. They are justseparated out for drawing purposes. There is an explanation section 158that corresponds to the connectivity graph 156, including why theconnectivity data is important, and what it means. In some cases, theexplanation section 158 also provides suggestions as to how to fixparticular problems.

FIG. 6B shows a graph 160 pertaining to occupancy detection issues, suchas but not limited to door status alarm data relative to total runtimedata and motion detection alarms relative to total runtime data. Thegraph 160 includes an explanation section 162 that explains what isbeing illustrated, as well as providing possible suggestions as to howto fix particular problems. For example, FIG. 6B states “If there is notdoor event for more than a predetermined period, then the door statusalarm will be triggered”. In this cases, the predetermined time periodmay be, for example, one week or one month. FIG. 6B also states “Ifthere is no motion detected for more than a predetermined period, thenthe motion detection alarm will be triggered”. Again, the predeterminedtime period may be, for example, one week or one month.

FIG. 6C shows a graph 164 pertaining to hotel operational status. Thegraph 164 includes data pertaining to percentage of time rooms wererented, percentage of time rooms were occupied. FIG. 6C also showspercentage of time LEM (Limited Energy Management), ETM (Energy TransferMonitoring), Auto Dis (Automatic Disable) and ADA (American DisabilitiesAct) accommodations were used. The graph 164 also includes anexplanation section 166 that explains what is being illustrated, as wellas providing possible suggestions as to how to fix particular problems.

FIG. 6D shows a graph 168 pertaining to effectiveness of occupancydetection on HVAC demand. The graph 168 includes information pertainingto percentages of occupied cool, unoccupied cool, occupied heat,unoccupied heat and occupancy rate. The graph 168 also includes anexplanation section 170 that explains what is being illustrated, as wellas providing possible suggestions as to how to fix particular problems.

FIG. 6E shows a graph 172 pertaining to effectiveness of PMS interfaceon HVAC demand. The graph 172 includes information pertaining topercentages of rented cool, unrented cool, rented heat, unrented heatand rental rate. The graph 172 also includes an explanation section 174that explains what is being illustrated, as well as providing possiblesuggestions as to how to fix particular problems.

FIG. 6F shows a graph 176 pertaining to energy savings. The graph 176includes information pertaining to EMS runtime, non-EMS runtime andoutside temperature. The graph 176 includes a menu 181 that allows auser to select between heating and cooling. As indicated by ahighlighted COOLING icon 182, the graph 176 is currently displayingenergy savings pertaining to cooling. The graph 176 also includes anexplanation section 178 that explains what is being illustrated, as wellas providing possible suggestions as to how to fix particular problems.

FIG. 7A is a screen shot showing a dashboard 180 that may be generatedby the remote server 14 and displayed on the display 34 of the computingdevice 32. In some cases, the dashboard 130 may be generated directly bythe computing device 32. The menu 132 allows a user to choose whatfeatures they wish to view. As shown, the user has selected Analytics,as indicated by the highlighted icon 134. The sub-menu 136 allows a userto choose which analytics information they wish to view. As shown, theuser has selected Comfort, as indicated by a highlighted icon 184. Thedashboard 180 includes a summary row 186 that includes a Comfort Score188, a Sleep Quality icon 190, a Comfort Alarm icon 192, an EquipmentAlarm icon 194, a Thermostat Interaction icon 196 and a TemperatureSetpoint icon 198. Each of the icons includes a rating such as Good,Bad, Fair, Critical such that a user can quickly see what areas may needattention.

The dashboard 180 as shown in FIG. 7A includes a graph 200 that showssleep quality data. The graph 200 includes information pertaining tonumber of poor nights of sleep have been reported relative to how manynights each room has been rented. It will be appreciated that the graphsshown in FIGS. 7B through 7D are part of the dashboard 180. A user mayscroll up and down through the dashboard 180 to view any of thesegraphs. They are just separated out for drawing purposes. There is anexplanation section 202 that corresponds to the sleep quality graph 200,including why the connectivity data is important, and what it means. Insome cases, the explanation section 202 also provides suggestions as tohow to fix particular problems.

FIG. 7B shows a graph 204 pertaining to HVAC alarms. The graph 204includes information pertaining to cooling equipment alarms and heatingequipment alarms. The graph 204 includes a menu 208 that allows a userto select between displaying equipment alarms and comfort alarms. Asindicated by a highlighted EQUIPMENT icon 210, the graph 204 iscurrently displaying equipment alarms. The graph 204 also includes anexplanation section 206 that explains what is being illustrated, as wellas providing possible suggestions as to how to fix particular problems.In the example show, the explanation section 206 also identifies thoserooms in the hotel 12 that were in equipment alarm status much higherthan expected.

FIG. 7C shows a graph 212 pertaining to thermostat interactions. Thegraph 212 includes information pertaining to how many times per day aguest interacted with the thermostat in their particular guest room. Ifa guest interacts frequently with the thermostat, this can indicate thatthe guest is not comfortable. This can mean that there are HVACequipment issues, for example. On the other hand, this could alsoindicate a family renting the room, where individual members of thefamily do not agree with respect to a desired temperature set point. Thegraph 212 also includes an explanation section 214 that explains what isbeing illustrated, as well as providing possible suggestions as to howto fix particular problems.

FIG. 7D shows a graph 216 pertaining to thermostat set points. The graph216 includes information pertaining to actual (guest) temperature setpoints relative to a welcome temperature set point set by the hotel.This may alert the hotel staff to change the welcome temperature setpoint with the seasons to match their guest preferences. The graph 216also includes an explanation section 218 that explains what is beingillustrated, as well as providing possible suggestions as to how to fixparticular problems.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the presentdisclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yetother embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claimshereto attached. It will be understood, however, that this disclosureis, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details,particularly in matters of shape, size, arrangement of parts, andexclusion and order of steps, without exceeding the scope of thedisclosure. The disclosure's scope is, of course, defined in thelanguage in which the appended claims are expressed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating an energy saving system ofa hotel, wherein the hotel has a plurality of guest rooms, the methodcomprising: the energy savings system receiving one or more electronicsignals and/or parameters related to a guest room of the hotel via anelectronic interface; the energy savings system monitoring the one ormore electronic signals and/or parameters related to the guest room inan attempt to detect the presence of each of two or more energy savingconditions associated with the guest room under which there is anopportunity to save energy when controlling the guest room withoutsacrificing guest comfort; the energy savings system determining ameasure of reliability of detecting the two or more energy savingsconditions of the guest room based at least in part on the one or moresignals and/or parameters received and monitored by the energy savingssystem; the energy savings system controlling the guest room in adesignated energy savings mode when one or more of the energy savingsroom conditions of the guest room is successfully detected, andcontrolling the guest room in a default guest comfort mode when none ofthe energy savings room conditions of the guest room are successfullydetected; the energy savings system determining an energy score for theguest room based at least in part on the measure of reliability ofdetecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guest room,wherein the energy score is representative at least in part of theability of the energy savings system to take advantage of theopportunity to save energy when controlling the guest room; and theenergy savings system outputting a notification of the energy score toinform hotel staff.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the two ormore energy savings conditions comprises a guest room rental status ofun-rented.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein a Property ManagementSystem (PMS) of the hotel identifies the guest room rental status, andwherein the one or more electronic signals and/or parameters related tothe guest room of the hotel that are used to determine at least in partthe measure of reliability of detecting the two or more energy savingsconditions of the guest room are used to identify a PMS connectivityparameter representative of a reliability of a connection of the energysaving system to the PMS.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein one of thetwo or more energy savings conditions comprises a guest room occupancystatus of un-occupied.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein one or moresensors of the guest room are used to identify the guest room occupancystatus, and wherein the one or more electronic signals and/or parametersrelated to the guest room of the hotel that are used to determine atleast in part the measure of reliability of detecting the two or moreenergy savings conditions of the guest room are used to identify a roomconnectivity parameter representative of a reliability of a connectionof the energy savings system to the guest room.
 6. The method of claim4, wherein one or more sensor of the guest room are used to identify theguest room occupancy status, and wherein the one or more electronicsignals and/or parameters related to the guest room of the hotel thatare used to determine at least in part the measure of reliability ofdetecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guest roomare used to identify an occupancy detection parameter representative ofa reliability of occupancy detection in the guest room.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein one of the two or more energy savings conditionscomprises a guest room rental status of un-rented and another of the twoor more energy savings conditions comprises a guest room occupancystatus of un-occupied, wherein: when a guest room rental status ofrented is detected and a guest room occupied status of un-occupied isdetected, a first designated energy savings mode is used that deviatesfrom the guest comfort mode by a first set amount; and when a guest roomrental status of un-rented is detected, a second designated energysavings mode is used that deviates from the guest comfort mode by asecond set amount, wherein the second set amount is greater than thefirst set amount.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingdetermining the energy score of the guest room based at least in part onthe first set amount.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprisingdetermining the energy score of the guest room based at least in part onthe second set amount.
 10. The method of claim 7, further comprisingdetermining the energy score of the guest room based at least in part onthe second set amount.
 11. A system for controlling a guest room of ahotel having a plurality of guest rooms, the system comprising: a hotelnetwork to which each of the plurality of guest rooms are operablycoupled to; and a server operatively coupled to the hotel network, theserver configured to: receive via one or more networks, including thehotel network, one or more electronic signals and/or parameters relatedto the guest room; determine an indication of network connectivity tothe guest room based at least in part on the one or more electronicsignals and/or parameters related to the guest room; receive via the oneor more networks one or more electronic signals and/or parametersrelated to a Property Management System (PMS) of the hotel; determine anindication of network connectivity to the Property Management System(PMS) of the hotel based at least in part on the one or more electronicsignals and/or parameters related to the PMS; monitor one or more of theelectronic signals and/or parameters related to the guest room and oneor more of the electronic signals and/or parameters related to the PMSin an attempt to detect the presence of each of two or more energysaving conditions associated with the guest room under which there is anopportunity to save energy when controlling the guest room withoutsacrificing guest comfort; determine a measure of reliability ofdetecting the two or more energy savings conditions of the guest roombased at least in part on one or more of the indication of networkconnectivity to the guest room and the indication of networkconnectivity to the PMS; control the guest room in a designated energysavings mode when one or more of the energy savings room conditions ofthe guest room is successfully detected, and controlling the guest roomin a default guest comfort mode when none of the energy savings roomconditions of the guest room are successfully detected; determine anenergy score for the guest room based at least in part on one or more ofthe indication of network connectivity to the guest room and theindication of network connectivity to the PMS; and display on a displaythe energy score.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the energy scoreis based at least in part on the indication of network connectivity toeach of a plurality of guest rooms and the indication of networkconnectivity to the PMS.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the serveris further configured to display the energy score in combination with anaggregate energy score for a comparison hotel.
 14. The system of claim11, wherein the indication of network connectivity of the guest roominclude one or more of: a guest room uptime parameter that provides anindication of how long the guest room has been online relative to agiven period of time; and a router uptime parameter that provides anindication of how long the hotel network has been online relative to thegiven period of time.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the indicationof network connectivity to the PMS includes a PMS uptime parameter thatprovides an indication of how long the PMS has been online relative tothe given period of time.